The European Film Awards 2009

Posted on Sunday December 13, 2009, 22:29 by Damon Wise in Under The Radar

The first time I went to the European Film Awards was exactly ten years ago, in 1999, in a theatre in Berlin where hundreds of men and women in evening dress endured the unlikely hosting team of Mel Smith and Carole Bouquet. Even now, I can hardly believe that a) not only did it happen but b) Smith was subsequently rehired (at least twice, to my knowledge). To put things into perspective, when we realised that we were practically being locked inside the auditorium, the hysteria was a little like that at the event that concludes Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, but with a Jim Davidson-style live show instead of a Nazi propaganda movie and the crowd inside more than happy to burn the place down by themselves. I don't remember much, except that the night was rather boring and a bit amateurish, but I fondly recall seeing David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar having a chat, and I will never forget catching a glimpse of Roman Polanski doing a funny little dance at the party afterwards.

This year's event, funnily enough, was the Oscars by comparison. Held in the Bochum Jahrhundertalle, a huge steel and concrete construction that used to be the local gasworks, it was a lavishly choreographed show that saw nominees sitting in comfy armchairs in front of a glittering red and black stage that flickered like an endless loop of celluloid. To the right, there was a massive screen; to the left, there were three Kraftwerk clones (called Bauhaus) who did some sort of vision mixing; and in the middle there was Anke Engelke, a fearless comedienne who's the sort of Ronni Ancona of Germany and both the voice of The Simpsons' Marge and Finding Nemo's Dory in the dubbing-crazy region. As these things go, it was pretty slick, but for some reason the organisers preferred to dwell on the mistakes, pretending things were going wrong even when they weren't.

Perhaps as an indication for the way the Oscars are going to go, there wasn't really a whole lot of anticipation for the night's outcome: though Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon was deemed a fair winner by most, the competition shortlist was an odd mix. Slumdog Millionaire was in there too, along with Fish Tank, Let The Right One In, A Prophet and (unbelievably) The Reader, a film that still causes me to twitch uncontrollably at the mere mention of its name. Personally, I'd have rather seen Let The Right One In – Empire's film of the year – or A Prophet take the main prize, because these are intelligent foreign-language films that an audience might actually see, and as much as I like and 'get' The White Ribbon, I don't think lauding it does much to challenge current prejudices against European cinema.

It was a fairly light-hearted ceremony nonetheless, and though there was a slight intake of breathe when the well-meaning host attempted a dodgy Mumbai accent while announcing the People's Choice Award for Slumdog Millionaire, the audience was supportive – there were even two standing ovations, although a third attempt proved less popular (more of that later). The first was for European Achievement Winner Isabelle Huppert, the second for a misty-eyed Ken Loach, winner of the Lifetime Achievement award. Loach seemed genuinely choked up as he took the stage; sadly, it didn't stop him having a little soapbox moment, in which his genuine joy segued into a slightly tenuous pop at the Israeli government.

The third standing ovation was essayed by a lone man who jumped to his feet when the night's surprise guest was announced. Presenting Loach with his statuette was football star Eric Cantona, who, surprisingly, isn't such a big star on the continent as he is in the UK. With few star names in attendance (Penelope Cruz, Pedro Almodovar and Kate Winslet were the highest profile no-shows), Cantona gave the event the razzle it needed, struggling manfully with Loach's CV as he reeled off the likes of “Reef-Roff”, “I Fond Kees” and Ze Wind Zat Shekks Ze Barley”. But the highlight for me was the smile on the face of Tamar Rahim (pictured), the brilliant young star of Jacques Audiard's masterful A Prophet. His dazzling, 100-watt grin was a reminder that, even though these heavily Hollywood-conscious awards might seem at first glance to be a bit defensive and perhaps even needlessly provincial, to the winners they really do mean the world.

EUROPEAN FILM 2009
The White Ribbon, Michael Haneke

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2009
Michael Haneke for The White Ribbon

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2009
Tahar Rahim, A Prophet

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2009
Kate Winslet, The Reader

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2009
Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon

CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2009
Anthony Dod Mantle, Antichrist and Slumdog Millionaire

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY PRIX D’EXCELLENCE 2009
Brigitte Taillandier, Francis Wargnier, Jean-Paul Hurier & Marc Doisne for the Sound Design in A Prophet

EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2009
Alberto Iglesias, Broken Embraces

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2009
Katalin Varga (directed by Peter Strickland)

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2009
Mia Et Le Migou (Mia And The Migoo), Jacques-Rémy Girerd and Nora Twomey

EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA
Isabelle Huppert

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ken Loach

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle